Vegetable Gardening 101: Setting Up Your Garden

Have you been thinking about starting a vegetable garden and need help getting started? City Green’s Director of Agriculture, Henry Anderson has put together this guide to help you choose the right location, size, and more for your garden to help you have a successful and fun growing season! Our farms and gardens are in Zone 7A, but anyone can use this guide to get their garden started.

Selecting a Location

Choosing the right location for your garden is the first step to success. Ideally, you want to plant your garden away from tall buildings and trees. If this is not possible, you can set your garden up to the south of any tall structures or trees that may block the sun. This way, your plants get enough daily sunlight to grow strong and healthy. To check how much sunlight a certain area will get, you can utilize free resources such as Shademap.app and Suncalc.org to visualize the sun's path over your garden.

You also want to make sure that your garden has easy access to water. This can be via a spigot outside of your house if one is available and accessible. Another option is to collect water using rain barrels, which can then be used to water your garden.

Once you’ve selected your location, you should also decide whether you want to use raised garden beds or plant directly into the soil. Raised garden beds are built on top of the ground and can be used to start a garden on soil that is too contaminated for growing or non-soil surfaces like asphalt. They can also reduce the amount of bending down you need to do when gardening. If you decide to use raised beds, plan to make them at least two feet deep to allow enough space for your plants to grow.

Protecting Your Garden

It’s important to keep your garden safe from pests that can eat or otherwise harm your plants. In New Jersey, two of the main pests to look out for are deer and groundhogs. To prevent these animals from getting in, you can build a fence around your garden. Building a slightly larger fence can be a helpful investment, as this will allow you to expand your garden into the size of the fence rather than upgrading your fence as your garden grows. Choosing a square plot for your garden will help you purchase the most cost and size efficient fence.

Another consideration you want to make, especially if using raised garden beds, is stray cats. To keep cats from using your garden beds as litter boxes, you can cover the beds with twigs or netting until you begin planting, or use other natural methods such as placing orange peels in the beds to deter cats.

Creating a Planting Map

When it comes to vegetable gardening you shouldn’t plant without a plan. You want to make sure that you provide each crop the right amount of space in your garden to grow to full maturity. Creating a planting map will help you visualize how much you can fit in your garden. 

To create a map, start by measuring the full area of your garden. If you already have beds in the garden, measure the size of each raised or in-ground garden bed. Alternatively, you can also use the map to plan out how many garden beds you need and how big they should be. 

This guide shows you the ideal spacing for different types of garden vegetables.

Your map can be as simple or complex as you’d like! Here's a sample garden map:

Preparing Your Soil

Depending on whether you’ve chosen to use raised beds or plant directly into the ground, your soil preparation will look different. Preparing garden beds is typically easier, especially for less experienced gardeners. When filling a garden bed, you can use quality topsoil and compost, allowing these beds to be ready for planting without extensive soil testing or preparation.

If you are planning to garden directly into the ground, it’s helpful to get your soil tested for its pH balance and any nutritional deficiencies that could hinder plant growth. You can submit a soil sample to the Rutgers Soil Testing Laboratory to receive information about your soil and any adjustments it might need before you begin planting. In New Jersey, soil is often acidic, which can be remedied by using lime powder available for purchase at your local hardware or garden store. 

In-ground gardening also requires you to remove any pre-existing grass and visible weeds, as these roots can inhibit your plant growth. 

For both raised and in-ground garden beds, it is also important to loosen your soil before planting. A good time to begin loosening is when the temperature is staying in the 50s consistently every day and the soil isn’t too hard or wet. Using a broadfork, aerate and loosen the soil. You want to go 1-2 feet deep, as this will break up any compact soil that roots won’t be able to grow into. Avoid completely flipping, turning, or otherwise tilling the soil, as this can disturb the established soil structure. The soil structure contains microorganisms, root networks, and mycelium that will help your garden thrive.

Composting & Mulching

Composting and mulching are important steps you can take to ensure that your soil is healthy, protected, and ready for planting. Compost acts as food for the soil and can help neutralize its pH to improve plant health. Compost can also act as mulch to help prevent weeds from growing in your garden. You can make your own compost at home, but if you’re just starting out, purchasing quality compost can be an easier option. In northern New Jersey, two places you can purchase compost from include Abma’s Farm and RER Supply. 

In a raised garden bed, you can fill the bed with topsoil and then add compost on top. The soil and compost you purchase and use should be free of weed seeds and shouldn’t need much more work or adjustment to be ready for planting.

When planting in an in-ground bed, you might also consider sheet mulching with cardboard. Sheet mulching involves laying down cardboard and putting compost on top of it. The cardboard prevents any weeds that germinate from growing. It can also prevent grass from growing into your garden beds, as too much grass growth can destroy your garden. Over time, the cardboard will break down and you’ll be left with just the compost and soil ready for planting.

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All of these tips provide a general guide for getting your garden set up and ready for growing. While everyone’s gardening journey is different, following these steps will set you up for a successful growing season!

Keep an eye out for our next blog post where we'll discuss choosing vegetable varieties and the different planting methods you can use in your garden.